Sunday, May 31, 2009

Lee Kuan Yew's son had recently made a long speech in Parliament. The speech was trying to mislead you into believing that his government is trying to bring about more democracy. Towards this, among other nonsense, he says he is going to increase the number of nominated MPs.

I hope you will finally realize the situation you are in. Singapore is a dictatorship controlled by Lee Kuan Yew and his family. He has no intention of ever losing any election. Regardless of how many people vote for the opposition, he will win. So will his son, and so will his relatives such as Wong Kan Seng and his close friends. If the votes do not go his way, he will just stuff the ballot boxes with the number he needs. And if anyone complains, he will have you arrested and sent to prison or sent to the Institute of Mental Health or wherever else he wants to. I want you to realize this.

Second, regardless of how many opposition candidates gets elected, it is he who controls every institution in Singapore. It is he who is the master of the judges, the Police Commissioner, the Army, the Press, everything. Parliament is merely a rubber stamp. Even if Parliament were to decide anything against his wishes, which is most unlikely, his servants in the right places would merely ignore it.

Third he controls the media. He can spin any tale he wants and it will be dutifully published. You have no way of getting your voice across because there is no one to tell it for you. Yes, you can blog. But you can only do it in Singapore under disguise. If you state your name and criticize, you will be sent to Jail or the mental institution. That is why there is no one openly daring to criticize except for a handful such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan who is prepared to go to jail and has gone there many times in the past. Then there is myself who writes from California. There is nothing he can do to me, because I am beyond the reach of his tentacles. Like a bully who only goes after those who are helpless, he leaves me alone.

His son has spun a web of lies in Parliament, which actually mean nothing. His claim of allowing more dissent in parliament by increasing the number of Nominated MPs is nonsense as you know. Nominated MPs do not represent anyone. As the word says, they are nominated. Moreover they are handpicked and pre-approved by him and his son. What happens is worse than you think. All the questions asked by these selected individuals are prepared by him and his government. Like in a movie, they read out these questions and make these comments as if it is their own. It is not. The questions and comments are prepared and drafted by the government. They merely read it out. The intent is to fool you into thinking there is true debate. The whole thing is a shameless spectacle, an opera, a theatre, a make believe and a charade. In any case, since they do not represent the citizens, they have no right to be in Parliament anyway. Please don't forget, the Constitution of Singapore calls for elected representatives. Not these shameless clowns who do the acting to please their pockets and Lee Kuan Yew and his son.

Try to understand this. In this situation there is nothing you can do. Merely voting the opposition into Parliament will not do anything for you, when Lee Kuan Yew and his son are hell bent on keeping power for themselves.

The only way you can do something about it is to Protest. The answer lies in Civil Disobedience, a right which is guaranteed to you under the constitution; the rights of free speech, expression and assembly. Demand justice for yourself. The country is yours and if you do nothing, you will continue as the slaves that you are now.

Remember this. Lee Kuan Yew uses his mercenary Gurkha police to instill fear in you, with the threat that if you oppose in numbers, the Gurkhas will shoot you. Do not be afraid. You have right on your side.

I am, doing what I can by continuing to expose these injustices there. I was born in Singapore and I have not only a right but a duty to do what I can. My recent arrest and imprisonment in Singapore has given much greater exposure to “Singapore Dissident” which is being read widely not only in Singapore but around the world. The Singapore government had hoped that with my arrest, imprisonment and deportation from Singapore, I will disappear into oblivion. Sorry to disappoint Lee Kuan Yew and son, but I have no intention of doing that. “Singapore Dissident” will continue. By writing regularly, I keep alive my message that it is no better than a dictatorship which requires to be kicked out.

Do not be taken in by the gimmicks of Lee Kuan Yew and his son. They have no intention of loosening their grip on power. They intend to put you in jail if you oppose. They rule by the only way they know, fear.

Don't be afraid. They are not as invisible as they think they are. In fact they are hurting in more ways than one. Singapore has finally lost its niche. With manufacturing gone, their only hope is casinos and money laundering, both of which is in doubt. They have lost 2/3 of the assets of the country in bad investment decisions. With a huge public sector workforce with an astronomical payroll, they will not have the money to keep them in work much longer. You are going to see more unemployment than the 200,000 people who have already lost their jobs. Foreign companies will not invest there because it has nothing to offer. And with the country totally dependant on foreign companies, it is the end for them.

At the same time, you know that emigration has increased. To replace them they take on unqualified Chinese from mainland China. Malaysian Chinese are refusing to come. They cannot train new workers by giving scholarships because firstly it takes too long to educate someone and secondly, after getting scholarships, these students break their bonds. Today 8 out of 10 students who are on overseas scholarships refuse to return to Singapore. Of course the state controlled press there has no intention of reporting this.

Realize this. If you protest, you may be arrested. But what choice do you have. By keeping quiet, you are letting this corrupt dictatorship take Singapore to the dogs.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

This time the title of the article in Singapore's state controlled online edition of the newspaper the Straits Times of May 28, 2009 was "Changes to Parliament, In sync with aspirations". This is about a speech given the previous day in Parliament by Lee Kuan Yew's son, whom he appointed Prime minister. Since he is so insignificant and inconsequential, totally bereft of any ability one way or the other, rather than call him by name, let us refer to him as the "son".

The son has clearly said a lot of words, being a long speech, which was nothing more than hogwash. Which begs the question, how does the son, make such a speech with a serious face in a so-called first world island! The answer lies in a number of facts. First, Lee Kuan Yew his father has deliberately over the last 50 years made sure that the vast majority of Singaporeans are kept ignorant of their legal rights.

Singaporeans are literate with primacy and secondary education. They are taught algebra, mathematics, they are taught to read and write simple English but are deliberately not told of their legal rights, their constitutional rights or the fact that they are the masters of their own destiny or that Singapore is supposed to be a democracy.

Second, Lee Kuan Yew and his son control the print media and every single media. No one else can dispute anything they say in the Singapore press since there is no independent press. In this case, the son, as it is here, can make any speech he wants, such as this, and order it published the next day in his newspaper as he has in fact done.

Third, the son doesn't care one bit what the people think of him. Since his father and him control all the judges, one example being Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean of the Singapore High Court about whom I wrote which landed me in prison (read the posts in this blog), no one dares to question the nonsense that he says in Parliament, since it might result in your conviction, imprisonment and being bankrupted by any one of his judges.

There is no need to waste any time in going into the details of his nonsense in the speech. But I would like to mention the following.

The son says he wants to increase the number of Nominated Members of Parliament because, according to him, they help publicise and argue opposing views. This is total nonsense. The Constitution of Singapore provides for representative government. Nominated people are not representing anyone. They have not been elected by anyone. When they speak, they are not speaking for any citizen. As such I am not interested in listening to them. They are invited to make their speeches in their bathrooms or shower in private. They can make speeches to their friends. But they do not represent me. I do not know them or neither do I want to hear them.

If this is not bad enough, these are selected by the organizations such as the Law Society, which themselves are controlled by the government. You know of course, I hope that every profession, every society, every group of individuals are controlled by the government in this one party state. Let us not forget this is a one party state with Lee Kuan Yew, the supreme dictator. So when the Law Society recommends a candidate such as Siew Kum Hong, who has made provocative speeches such as the need to liberalize homosexuality, we know that these are in fact servants of Lee Kuan Yew, his son and their government, and these speeches which are pre approved and even written for them by the son and his government. They are sworn not to disclose the ruse and in return for the high salary, engage in a make believe as if they were in fact making their own speeches. We need nothing of this. We don't need the charade,the satire and the comedy of this parliament. We need our representatives in Parliament or none at all. Not selected stooges put in place as Nominated MPs.

If the son is serious about his alleged intentions to bring about a more open democratic country, rather than this lugubrious drollery that goes on there, let us be serious. Let us treat Singaporeans with a little more respect rather than the zombies he takes them to be.

Stop corrupting the judiciary and sack Judges like Belinda Ang Saw Ean. Stop using defamation actions to destroy political opponents. Let Singapore have a free press and the right of people to free speech expression and assembly. Stop the racial discrimination against the Malays and Indians by stopping indiscriminate immigration from the People Republic of China. Reverse the politically motivated judgements against Dr. Chee Soon Juan and permit him to stand for elections. Return the money that you stole from him, with interest in the defamation awards against him. Restore him to his position as Professor in the National University of Singapore.

My message to the son is this. Do what is right. Stop making a fool of yourself. Stop making these silly speeches. We are not listening.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Yet another Singapore lawyer steals his client's money. This time it is $68,000. The thief this time is lawyer David Khong, aged 42. Singapore really lives it to it's reputation of having the most dishonest bunch of lawyers in the world. For a legal profession in the tiny country of Singapore which only has 4.5 million people and a lawyer population of only 2,500 or so, you read with great regularity of lawyers running away with their client's money. This is tragic since the legal profession is supposed to be noble, and it is most extraordinary to see so many dishonest lawyers in a profession with so few members.

David Khong, the lawyer thief in this case, had absconded with the money after he got possession of it from a purchaser of a property in Singapore worth millions. This story appears in the Singapore state controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of May 27, 2009.

Only 4 days ago on May 24, 2008 in the post "Singapore can only hope to be a tourist destination. Nothing more" in this blog, I had written about another lawyer thief in Singapore Udayasurian Sidambaram who had stolen $100,000.00 of his client's money. For that he was suspended from practicing for a year.

The almost clockwork regularity and frequency with which Singapore lawyers are arrested for stealing their client's money is shocking. Almost every other day you read of lawyers running away with their clients money. It has almost become Singapore's signature conduct. Each time you deal with a Singapore lawyer, you get the jitters not knowing whether he too is a crook who will take off with your money.

This unusually large number of cheats in the Singapore legal profession which happens to have only 2500 lawyers in all has made it known throughout the world as a hub for dishonest lawyers. This can only adversely effect Singapore's business competitiveness and reputation. I have heard that foreign companies and individuals operating in Singapore are taking pains to try to avoid dealing with local lawyers for their peace of mind and increasingly they are moving to other more respected jurisdictions such as Sydney Australia or London to settle their disputes. Especially now with the deep recession affecting Singapore, the bad reputation of Singapore lawyers is further compounding the difficulties of this one party state.

You may want to ask yourself why? Why are there so many dishonest lawyers in that small island. I look at it this way. The administration itself has lost all respect. And when the country's rulers themselves are thoroughly unethical, not to mention downright corrupt, how do you expect the citizens to behave? Lee Kuan Yew, whom many refer to as the founder of modern Singapore is in fact the most corrupt human being in that small island. You would already know by now that he pays himself (or steals, which ever way you want to call it), $3.7 million a year. He has the audacity to call this a "salary". Not only that he pays this amount to each of his children, all his family members and everyone else whom he cares to be generous to. And not only that, it is generally believed that he steals even more, but as to how much we do not know. And if any citizen would dare to question him about it, he will use his judges to abuse the law and finish you off.

It is not only him. Every one in his government is, just like him thoroughly dishonest and corrupt.

And mind you, these are the "role models" in Singapore, corrupt crooks like him. So this would explain the great prevalence of dishonesty not only among lawyers but throughout the population. It is easy to know why. Surely, if the very men at the top can be so dishonest and not feel any guilt or responsibility at all, why should not the average man or the average lawyer have some part of the loot? Singaporeans no longer look up to the universal virtues of integrity, honesty and responsibility. These are no longer virtues in that island. What matters is money, no matter how dishonestly you find it. If it is good enough for Lee Kuan Yew the dictator of that one party state, surely it is good enough for others.

The other worrying trend is the increasing numbers of Indian lawyers who have become thieves. In the past they were not that many. Many had some sense of decency. But in the recent past, Indians have joined the other races in having as many dishonest lawyers in them. I guess Lee Kuan Yew's dishonesty rubs off on them crossing racial boundaries.

Singapore now is undoubtedly, to use Singapore's favorite term, a "hub" for dishonest lawyers.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I read in the online edition of Straits Times today that another Singapore lawyer has stolen $68,000.00. I could not discover his name. Could anyone tell me who it is? I would appreciate if you could send the article to me either as a comment or by Email. Thanks

Singapore's state controlled newspaper in it's online edition of May 27, 2009 has the article "MPs rebut Low's claim". Not that parliamentary speeches of Low Thia Khiang would make any difference to anyone one way or another; the article is about his speech in Parliament arguing the need for an elected opposition in Parliament to facilitate a responsible accountable government.

To those who are unaware of the unique nature of the Singaporean Parliament, listen to this. Outwardly it claims to be a parliamentary democracy. It is not. It is a one party state. Lee Kuan Yew owns and controls anything that matters in the country. He controls the press, the courts, the newspapers, the universities, the police, the army, anything and everything. Parliament is merely a rubber stamp. It has 2 miserable opposition members of Parliament as opposed to 84 government Members. It is a waste of every one's time to argue anything in Parliament. If Low Thia Khiang, one of the 2 opposition members is honest about it, he would not be wasting his breath there. Might as well go home and watch TV, play majong, go about this private business or eat char kway teow.

But the purpose of this post is not just to tell you that. It is to tell you that Singapore is one of the most corrupted countries in Asia. Ms Indranee Rajah, Lee Kuan Yew's member of Parliament, whose only ability perhaps was to get a law degree and dutifully support her master regardless of how unjust or undemocratic his actions are, argues that there is no need for strong opposition in Parliament because other countries are corrupt even with strong oppositions. This is like arguing that there is no need for a police force because even countries with policemen have criminals! Surely, anyone with any self respect would be reluctant to make such a brazenly illogical statement but because in this one party state, she can get away with anything she says no matter how silly, this is what they do.

Believe it or not this is how silly or nonsensical this woman gets. Take this quote "Going by this argument, the logical outcome is that every country with an opposition should be squeaky clean and Singapore should be the most corrupt country in the world". Well Ms Indaranee, your desperate attempt to defend the indefensible is wrong on the one hand, but unwittingly for you, entirely right in the other part. It is true that countries with strong oppositions are usually the ones who have less corruption. On the other hand you are entirely right that Singapore is one of the most corrupt countries if not the most the the world.

If Ms Indarenee is trying to argue that Singapore is not corrupted, what do you call Lee Kuan Yew, his son, his family members, his friends, all of them paying themselves $3.7 million dollars each year of the people's money? If this is not corruption, what is it? I understand Lee Kuan Yew calls it a salary. Why should he be paid the highest salary in the world for any government official? And is he paying himself any additional monies other than this. Is he prepared to say this or no?

And as for you, just like your benefactor Lee Kuan Yew, how much money are you being paid? Several million dollars? And why are you not prepared to say exactly what you earn? If you are hiding your true income like your master does, are you not also corrupt? Would you not agree that there is no transparency in the flow of money into each and every member of the government in Singapore. And is not this concealment of the flow of Singapore dollars into your pockets not corruption.

You see, it really does not matter what Low Thia Khiang says or not anyone else says. With the corrupt judiciary in Singapore, Lee can order the judges to punish anyone who dares to question the corruption of this government. So Lee Kuan Yew and his family can steal any amount of money they want because no one dares question their actions.

It would therefore be correct to say, Singapore is the most corrupt small island in the world. Where else can you rob the people with complete impunity?

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Monday, May 25, 2009

I have been reading Singapore's state controlled newspaper's online edition, the Straits Times from my office in Fremont, Northern California, outside San Francisco as you know. The newspapers daily come up with new laws, new policies and new agendas of this one party state Singapore. Today, it is the changes in the CPF. Yesterday it was a Malaysian born Chinese MP in Lee Kuan Yew's office scolding the Mainland Chinese table tennis coach in Singapore. Also there was the news of the police recruiting another 1500, I assume poorly educated individuals, to join the police force to stop anyone engaging in peaceful protests. A few days ago, there was the news report of Singapore London Day where many thousands of Singaporeans assembled in London to pay tribute to Singapore and its greatness. In fact there was probably a handful of Singapore government workers in London who were asked to pose for the picture in the newspaper, and the rest were merely passers by who took the opportunity to grab some free food displayed in a public park in London!

And as a matter of fact, no one cares. You can write in your papers that Singapore has sent a man to Mars but it would not raise an eyebrow, I tell you that. This is what always happens in dictatorships. The government has instilled so much fear in the people that it is dangerous to raise any opinions, unless it is accepted by the government. So why take the risk of saying anything or doing anything. Just go about your business and let the state controlled press say whatever they want. It wouldn't make a difference one bit either way anyway. Your opinions as citizens is inconsequential to the leader and his scholar elite ministers. Just keep your mouth shut and do as you are told. If not, Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean will be deployed to order you pay Lee Kuan Yew $400,000.00 for defaming the leader, just as Dr. Chee had to suffer.

And if this is the sort of country that can compete in the global market place, you might as well try to convince me that pigs can fly.

The supreme leader of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew is 87 years old. His handpicked former Kempetai Japanese Military Police employee of 1942 to 1945, SR Nathan, the President is 89 years old. The leader's son, whom he placed as Prime Minister does not inspire any confidence in anyone. All the rest of his Cabinet and government are minions running about waiting for the next order from the leader. Or singing praises to him as the occasion warrants. This whole scenario does not instill any confidence in anyone. The 86 year old leader may die soon. His son, the Prime Minister is useless. When that happens your Singapore dollar and the monetary reserves if there are any left will disappear into thin air.

If I can bet on it, you should do this before it is too late. Take your families and your money out to stable and respected countries such as Australia and other democracies. Singapore is a one party dictatorship where the leader steals your money to the tune of $3.7 million dollars a year and calls it a salary. And if you question it, he will send you to jail.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

In my last log post, Saturday, May 23, 2009, "The Singapore President SR Nathan goes around giving motivational speeches", I had said why it would be difficult for Singapore to be a multi faceted, multi talented nation, a place of learning, education, research, invention and enterprise. I don't really see Singapore being a truly great nation. The only thing going for Singapore may be a tourist destination like the Bahamas or any other Caribbean island or a Pacific island such as the Cook Islands or Vanuatu.

And it can be, as it already is now, one large shopping mall, although how successful it could be in the future, with cities like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur offering cheaper goods and services, I do not know. But for the moment, you would not be wrong to call Singapore one large shopping mall.

Another possibility for Singapore would be one large eating place, with restaurants and cafes at every nook and corner. This, as you know is already the case. The Lee Kuan Yew government can put out its publicity worldwide that Singapore is now an eating hub, the word "hub" being Lee's favorite word whenever it wants to create the illusion of grandeur out of thin air. In the most recent past we have seen all of Singapore's so called "hubs" turn out to be false alarms. Lee had said Singapore was going to be a transport hub with it's airport. We now know that if it was ever a hub, it is no longer so. The air traffic in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Indian airports have taken a huge portion of Singapore's air traffic with cheaper services. With smaller long range aircraft, they can fly direct to their destinations without stopping in Singapore.

Then we have heard Singapore's claim that it was a legal hub. With the 72 page scathing attack on the Singapore legal system by the respected International Bar Association recently telling the world that Lee Kuan Yew and his government abuses the law for their political ends, using corrupt judges such as Belinda Ang Saw Ean, the plugs were effectively and permanently pulled on any hopes in this direction. Moreover there are so many dishonest lawyers in that small island that no one can trust any lawyers there. And this meant the end of Singapore being a legal hub. In fact foreign countries and their citizens try their level best now to avoid submitting to the Singapore legal system, to avoid being ripped off by their corrupt judges and dishonest lawyers.

And with the relentless and mounting numbers of educated and ambitious Singaporeans leaving the country, I don't see any hope for Singapore other than being a tourist destination, a huge shopping mall and a place where foreigners come to taste Singapore food. So, for a young man thinking of a career, he should have no higher aspirations than to train to become a chef, a tourist guide or open a store selling Singapore handicrafts for foreign tourists.

Lee has also begun building 3 new casinos. So Singapore can also aspire, I think, to be a gambling center, where, like Monte Carlo or Macao, foreigners would come to Singapore to indulge in the immoral vice of gambling. And Singaporean parents can send their children to train for trades in this immoral business, like croupiers at roulette tables!

Singapore is already well known as a place of prostitution with almost a tenth of Singapore, an area known as Geylang, being dedicated entirely to this immorality and vice. In fact this fact of prostitution being easily available in Singapore is causing increasing numbers from Western Europe, America and Asia to come to Singapore for sex. This is a big revenue earner for Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. I am sure, Lee Kuan Yew is looking forward to increasing this immoral business as a means of survival.

Therefore, Singapore can aspire to be not much more than a center for prostitution, gambling, tourist destination, a huge shopping mall and a place to eat cheap Asian food. So Singapore children can aspire for nothing more than a career in these sort of industries. Nothing much to aspire for, regrettably.

And it was Lee Kuan Yew who is clearly responsible for bringing Singapore down to this sad state. On the other hand it could have been a vibrant democracy, with people being educated in various disciplines, where the people are free to discuss and debate new ideas and come up with new opportunities and new enterprises. But Lee Kuan Yew has prevented any independent thinking by imprisoning anyone with diverse opinions different for his own. By instilling fear, he has ensured that the people are afraid to discuss and debate openly. And this fear prevents Singapore from being anything other than a mere tourist destination and a large shopping mall for foreigners.

And you have to hold Lee Kuan Yew responsible for the dire state that Singapore is in.

And my message with families with young children and to young men and women is this. You are unable to achieve your true potential in Singapore unless you are willing to engage in unethical behavior to buttress Lee Kuan Yew in office. So if you are not prepared to fight Lee Kuan Yew and suffer the consequences, then you must leave the country for places such as Australia where you and your children can aspire to achieve your full potential. In Singapore, you will merely be a slave to Lee Kuan Yew and his government.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

The state controlled Singapore newspaper the Straits Times online edition of May 19, 2009 has an article written by an Intelligence Officer, Singapore Internal Security Department, who doubles as a journalist, Chua Mui Hoong, with this heading "New Strategies ahead. Basic approach sound, but some policies will be refined, says President". It talks about a speech by president SR Nathan of Singapore.

I needn’t say that you cannot rely on state controlled newspapers to tell you the truth because these governments use it as a political weapon to propagate propaganda, like Pravda or Izvestia of the former Soviet Union. Like Singapore’s state controlled newspapers.

I need to introduce this President, that is the President of Singapore, the 89 year old S.R. Nathan. The office of President in Singapore is entirely ceremonial. In other words, the man runs around as every other minister or minion in the country taking orders from the Supremo, the Magnificent, Lee Kuan Yew. It is well known that during the Japanese Military occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945, he served in the dreaded Japanese Military Police, the Kempetai allegedly as a translator/ interpreter from English to Japanese. It is rumored that he collaborated in the arrest and brutal torture, perhaps even murder of innocent Chinese, the longstanding enemies of the Japanese. Many Singaporeans of Chinese descent suffered greatly at the hands of the Japanese as they did in other parts of Asia, such as in Nanking. I will not be surprised that the Chinese of Singapore who suffered so much under the Japanese find SR Nathan being their president, a case of rubbing salt into their wounds.

After the war, he joined Lee Kuan Yew's police force, and to please him, he dutifully arrested and tortured innocent Singaporeans, every single person, who opposed Lee Kuan Yew's tyranny. Many innocent people have been tortured and imprisoned by him, merely for opposing his master, Lee Kuan Yew. His efforts were rewarded by the Supremo, by his being appointed the President at a salary or rather theft of Singapore’s assets of $4 million a year.

You must know, from his career of serving Lee Kuan Yew of eliminating and arresting Lee’s opponents, he has hardly any independent mind of his own. All he can do, as he has done throughout his entire career is to parrot anything that his master wants.

And this is what he is doing now. The Singapore intelligence officer who also works as a Singapore journalist Chua Mui Hoong reports of what this man had said in the opening of Singapore’s Parliament on May 18, 2009. Of course, all that he has said is a speech written out for him by Lee Kuan Yew's staff. He has nothing to say of his own of course.

The speech is intended to motivate and uplift Singaporeans, to encourage them and not lose hope in the present recession of unprecedented magnitude. He says his government will come up with new ideas and strategies but does not say what they are. He says he will seek new markets and develop new capabilities but does not say how or what these are. He says the political system will evolve but does not say how. And then he carries in the same vein, nothing but rhetoric and grandiose plans without explaining how when or where.

Remember Hitler? In Berlin before the final defeat with the Russians advancing to the gates, Hitler was deploying Goebbels to go around what was left of the Third Reich to make grandiose stirring speeches, that somehow the great German people would ride out the storm, overcome all odds and triumph. He too never gave any details as to how it will be done.

I am no economist, but I did take the subject in high school for 2 years. But you don’t need to be one to see the gloom before your eyes. I don’t see Singapore coming out of this recession. Singapore may go on, but with a weaker economy. I have many reasons for this.

For one, the people have lost all confidence with this administration. It must be obvious, for a nation to succeed; you need the people behind it. But in Singapore, the vast majority has no respect for Lee Kuan Yew and his colleagues and for the institutions of government. How does one have any respect for a government when Lee Kuan Yew pays himself and his friends, millions of dollars, which he calls salaries and no one is allowed to question it! If you do, you will be sued for defamation or sent to jail. The legal system has completely lost all respect when corrupt judges such as Belinda Ang Saw Ean abuses the law by ordering damages of over $400,000.00 against Dr. Chee Soon Juan merely for legitimate criticism? In my case, my passport was confiscated and I was forced to remain in Singapore for 6 months and then sent to jail for 3 months by Judge Kang Ting Chiu in September 17, 2008 for criticizing her in the Dr. Chee case. In the recent past, the Singapore courts have permitted themselves to be used by Lee Kuan Yew in the series of false law suits against JB Jeyaretnam to keep him out of political office. No country can aspire for success as a nation if the people of the country despise its government.

Another weakness of the system is its unique style. In it, the principle is this, either you are with them or you are against them. Lee Kuan Yew's government is only prepared to hear what is pleasing for them. Otherwise you are destined to oblivion. Young children are selected for having done well in school. They are then given scholarships to study overseas with a requirement they serve the government for a decade or two upon return. These students, although good in book learning are not honest decent human beings, whom the country needs the most. These are opportunists. They know Lee Kuan Yew is a dictator. They know Singaporeans basic rights are trampled upon. But these things do not bother them. They are in it for the money and the job security. So they use their education to further their careers while they entrench their master's (Lee Kuan Yew's) position by doing unconscionable acts to help him remain in office.

There are undeniably, highly educated, capable individuals in Singapore who would have been able to contribute greatly. But because of whom they are, they are ostracized, demonized and their views are not given the light of day. I am talking of men such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan. From reading his blog, the Singapore Democrat, there can be no doubt of his abilities. But because he dared to question Lee Kuan Yew, not only his ideas are blanked out from the mainstream state controlled media, Lee Kuan Yew has called him repeatedly a lair, a cheat and a man who stole $18.00 from the National University of Singapore, all lies of course.

And it is not just Dr. Chee who is being shut out. A sizable swath of the Singapore population, men and women who have human decency, self respect and at least of modicum of integrity have completely shut themselves out of this government. They want nothing to do with it. They are not prepared to sour their souls for money, such as this judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean is prepared to do. They refuse to co-operate with this government. They work quietly in private organizations, unseen and unheard. And when it becomes intolerable, they leave Singapore, taking their talents, their education, their skills and their money elsewhere. They leave Singapore for good.

You have to realize that this is a body of people, this government can least afford to lose, the educated skilled and articulate. But because the government cannot tolerate any ideas unless it comports with theirs, these citizens are lost to Singapore. And when only the few who sing praises to Lee Kuan Yew have the right to voice their ideas, there are insufficient people engaged in policy making and government. The numbers with ideas are not enough for any country to achieve success.

The Singapore economy is completely dependant on investment and ideas from abroad. Local grown companies or entrepreneurs are almost non existent. And with Singapore being what it is now, they have nothing to offer foreigners. If it is cheap labor, this is long gone to countries such as Indonesia. If it is legal hub, this too was long gone with the legal profession progressively shrinking with its strength now below 2,500.00 for an island with 4.5 million people! With the report of the International bar Association recently that categorically said Singapore does not have the rule of law; foreign companies are avoiding Singapore courts in their contracts by mutually agreeing to litigate in Australia and Britain, even though the contract relates to Singapore! And the Singapore legal system has been thoroughly discredited for having the world's highest number of crooks. Among the various crooked lawyers who had ran away with their client’s moneys, only yesterday Uthayasurian Sidambaram, a Singapore lawyer cheated his client of $100,000.00 for which he was found out and suspended for a year. The number of crooks in the Singapore legal profession of only 2500 is so great in proportion that Singapore lawyers are in fact the most dishonest in the world. Almost 200 to 300 lawyers every year are disciplined for dishonesty that is running away with their client’s money. I believe the profession has no choice but be lenient to these crooks since if they were disbarred, there won't be any lawyers left. That is why, for a serious crime such as this, cheating a client of $100,000, this lawyer is only punished with a suspension of 1 year from practice. In any other jurisdiction, he would have been disbarred.

The word has got out to foreigners intending to do business in Singapore not to trust Singapore lawyers that they are using foreign lawyers from their countries as far as possible to avoid being victims of the lawyer crooks of Singapore.

And on top of all this, you have the unrelenting emigration. I understand it is as many as 1,000 per year who give up their citizenship for overseas countries, and as many as 1,000 every month take foreign permanent residence. These men and women are the very cream of their society and the loss to the nation together with their families and children is too great to bear. To replace these talented citizens, Lee is forced to take second rate immigrants from China and India, many with insufficient English language skills or talent. People from the west do not come since they are aware that it is a dictatorship and they want no part of it. With a lack of talent and relentless brain drain from a small country such as this, it is difficult to think of survival let alone success. And these second rate immigrants with little English or any true understanding of Singapore, who are there merely for the ride, does not instill confidence.

And then you have relentless persecution of Dr. Chee Soon Juan, throughout the year for merely having spoken in public or for taking part in peaceful protests. This non stop persecution of Dr. Chee is a double edged sword. On the one hand, Lee Kuan Yew succeeds in intimidating and cowing his population through fear; fear of what would happen if like Dr. Chee they criticized. On the other hand, it alienates every right thinking member of society in Singapore as well as the world, which see a bully brow beating a helpless victim through corrupt judges like Belinda Ang Saw Ean. The people are intimidated but at the same time, they withdraw from having anything to do with this ruthless dictatorship, the honest ones that is.

From all this you can see why it is difficult for Singapore to thrive. Singapore really has nothing to offer the world, and the world now knows what Singapore really is. At the same time, Singaporeans have lost their ability for independent thinking or at least the courage to express it.

And that is why all this entirely titular president, SR Nathan, former Japanese Military Police (Kempetai) employee, perhaps responsible during the military occupation for the tortures and murders of innocent Singaporean Chinese, now Lee Kuan Yew's side kick, can do is to make grandiose and stirring speeches. You see Mr. Nathan, this is not enough.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Mr. Mas Selamat Kastari has now been caught. Singapore government has now retched up the drum beat that he had planned all manner of mischief against Singapore, such as blowing up Changi Airport among others. But are we not forgetting one thing here? Is not a man presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law? Is it enough for this Lee Kuan Yew dictatorship which is Singapore; to merely make all sorts of claims against a man, lock him up and throw away the key?

My question is this. If indeed Lee Kuan Yew had any evidence against him, why is it not possible to give him a fair trial? And if he is found guilty, then punish him. If not let him go.

There is no decent fair minded country in this world that does what Singapore is doing; locking people up without giving him any trial. I personally don't care what Singapore's Wong Kan Seng, Lee Kuan Yew's hand picked Minister of Law has to say about Mas Selamat. Wong Kang's Seng's allegations are not evidence and are of no value. In order to imprison a man, you need a trial and evidence that stands up to legal scrutiny.

This whole idea of imprisoning a man without trial, the Internal Security Act of Singapore which is being used to imprison Mas Selamat, is unacceptable in any civilized society.

And what is more, history has shown that Lee Kuan Yew has systematically abused this law to imprison innocent people for decades, people whom Lee Kuan yew did not like. I am of course talking of people such as Chia Tye Poh, imprisoned for 31 years because he was a political threat to Lee. Said Zahari, imprisoned for 17 years. Lee Kuan Yew's so called Marxist conspirators, decent civic minded Singaporeans who were jailed for years, merely because they dared to challenge Lee's authority. We now know that all these people were imprisoned under this law without trial and without any legal basis whatsoever, except for Lee Kuan Yew's claims plucked out of thin air. And it is this same law which stands wholly discredited and disgraced which is being used yet again to imprison Mas Selamat. Yet again a man is being thrown in jail because the Singapore state controlled newspaper, the Straits Times, claims that Wong believes Mas Selamat intends to blow up Singapore.

Anyone with a sense of decency cannot accept this. No, we are not satisfied with your accusations, Wong. Singapore's legal systems stands discredited as shown by the 72 page report of the International Bar Association. It is a country where judges decide the law not according to the rule of law but what pleases Lee Kuan Yew and his friends.

And I urge Malaysia not to hand over Mas Selamat to Singapore. Without any evidence I am not prepared to believe in any of Wong's accusations against Mas Selamat. The law requires that a man is innocent until proven guilty. As for Malaysia, so far, there has been no claim that Mas Selamat has planned anything against Malaysia. Malaysia is primarily a Muslim country and Mas Selamat is Malaly Muslim. I do not see any need for him to harm Malaysia. As for Singapore, Malaysia must know that the law is compromised. The litany of cases against opposition politicians such as JB Jeyaretnam, has left the legal system of Singapore disgraced and discredited. And history has also shown that the Internal Security Act has repeatedly been misused, the prime example of which is Chia Tye Poh, an innocent man, jailed for 31 years, even longer than Nelson Mandela. In these circumstances, without a proper legal system in Singapore, a legal system which has been thoroughly politicized, there is no guarantee that Mas Selamat will be treated fairly under law. This gives a right to Malaysia to refuse handing over Mas Selamat to Singapore. And this is the right thing Malaysia should do.

I do not know whether Mas Selamat is the monster that Singapore makes him out to be. But whether he is or he isn't, until he is given a fair trial, I am not prepared to believe anything.

I urge Malaysia, not to hand Mas Selamat over to a country such as Singapore, a country whose legal system stands disgraced in the eyes of the civilized world.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

He has said, in the Singapore Democratic Party website, http://www.yoursdp.org, of May 06, 2009, that DSP Hassan, of the Singapore Police force, Special Operations Command, Queensway Base, Singapore 149051 lied in the Subordinate Court under oath while testifying in Dr. chee Soon Juan's case in February 2009.

The material words of Dr. Chee in his blog of May 06, 2009 were, "They lie under oath: DSP Hassan testified that Dr. Chee Soon Juan had broken away from the police cordon during the WB-IMF (World Bank International Monetary fund) protest when it was actually the officer who had given Dr. Chee permission to proceed."

Dr. Chee's charge against DSP Hassan is indeed serious. To accuse someone of perjury (giving false testimony under oath) is a serious matter.

Under Section 193 of the Singapore Penal Code which reads “Whoever intentionally gives false evidence in any stage of a judicial proceeding or fabricates false evidence for the purpose of being used in any stage of a judicial proceeding shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 7 years and shall also be liable to fine".

Dr. Chee Soon Juan calls DSP a lair who had lied under oath in court. It is about the trial for the peaceful protest held by him and others in Speakers Corner, Hong Lim Park, on Sept 16, 2006 over the World Bank International Monetary Fund meetings being held in Singapore.

The charge against them was for "attempting to stage a procession from the Speakers Corner to Parliament House". The law does not require anyone to have a permit to speak in Speakers Corner. Yet, in order to secure a prosecution against Dr. Chee at any cost, DSP Hassan gave false testimony to say that he was not in Speakers Corner although numerous pictures and videos publicly available clearly show him in it.

DSP Hassan as I said is a superior officer in the police force. It is very high rank. Now since Dr. Chee has accused him, an officer of high rank, of perjury, a serious criminal offense which carries a sentence of 7 years in jail, will Singapore’s Attorney General who claims the need to protect Singapore’s reputation for the rule of law see the need now to prosecute DSP Hassan?

And if DSP Hassan is not being held to account for this serious criminal offence of perjury, then will Singapore’s Attorney General charge Dr. Chee Soon Juan of insulting a public official (a high ranking police officer)? If not, will DSP Hassan sue Dr. Chee Soon Juan for defamation of character and prove that he is not a perjurer, that he did not give false testimony under oath and clear his name?

At about 9 pm, Pacific Standard Time (California time) May 06, 2009, I telephoned Singapore number 6473 4026. Singapore time about 1 pm May 07, 2009. The following was the conversation:

Gopalan Nair: Are you DSP Hassan, full name DSP Mohd Hassan Said who is now involved in the trial of Dr. Chee in the Subordinates Courts

DSP Hassan: I guess so

Gopalan Nair: When you say "I guess so" can I take it that you are indeed the officer that is involved in Dr. Chee's trial going on now?

DSP Hassan: Yes

Gopalan Nair: Are you aware that Dr. Chee has written in his website that you had lied under oath while giving testimony in court?

DSP Hassan: It is up to the judge

Gopalan Nair: I am not talking about the judge. I am talking about you. He has called you a liar and that you lied under oath.

DSP Hassan: It is up to the judge

Gopalan Nair: Dr. Chee has called you a liar. Are you going to do nothing? Are you.................

DSP Hassan hangs up.

You can read what transpired in court, in the articles "Police are "fundamentally honest"? Wednesday, 06 May 2009, Singapore Democrats, and "Police testimony crumbles under cross-examination" Monday, 23 February 2009 Singapore Democrats.

You know what? I think nothing will happen. DSP Hassan will not be charged for lying under oath. And Dr. Chee will not be charged with insulting a police officer nor will DSP Hassan sue Dr. Chee for defamation of character.

And the reason? They have victimized Dr. Chee far too many times and he has been sued far too many times, so much so that Lee Kuan Yew's legal system has been totally discredited. And charging Dr. Chee or suing him will not bother Dr. Chee nor will anyone else. This is what happens when a legal system has lost all respect.

And even after all this, Mr. K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's recently hand picked Minister of Law is announcing on a daily basis that Singapore has the best legal system in the world! Doesn’t it make you laugh?

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

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About Me

Determined to find the Truth.
Born Singapore, educated Winstedt School 2 (next to Monks Hill in Newton, Singapore) Raffles Institution, National Service, some travel in Europe, then law studies England, return to Singapore, practiced for 10 years, active Workers Party member, stood elections 1988 and 1991 in Singapore, was harassed and persecuted by Lee Kuan Yew for my political beliefs, left for USA, obtained asylum and admitted California State Bar, practice law ever since in Fremont California near San Francisco. Relinquished Singapore citizenship 2005 because I was not prepared to permit Lee Kuan Yew to unjustly retain my CPF funds if I remained Singapore Citizen. On principle, the only correct thing for me to do was to give it up, for my CPF funds. I am an American Citizen as of 2004.